Keep up with the latest news and product updates from Whorled Domination!, and be entertained by the funny bunny antics of Aspen, the rescue rabbit :)

GNU Terry Pratchett

GNU Terry Pratchett

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Today we welcome our new furbaby, Aspen :) She is another rescue angora, and has quite a sad tale - she was rescued from a breeder after being made to have several litters of kits while she was still very young, and as a consequence has never really been properly socialised with either people, or other bunnies.

She has been a long-term foster bunny (2 years with her last placement, and I don't know about before that) because the rescue people just felt that she was not ready to be adopted out and wouldn't cope with it. And until I signed up to foster, the rescue service just really didn't have anyone on board who knew enough about angoras or could give them the time they require for proper care and to try to work on Aspen's issues in particular.

*drags out good mate, Sudsy the Soapbox* PLEASE people, if you have time and space to share, consider giving some of it to a foster animal until they find a furever home. If you can't foster but want a pet, PLEASE look into giving a rescued animal a good home. Contrary to popular belief, not all rescue animals are "problem" pets who have been surrendered because their owners couldn't handle their behaviour - there are plenty of stories of owners who have unexpected illnesses and things for example, and are no longer able to care for their pet so choose to surrender it and give it a chance to find a loving home rather than having it euthanased.

Rescue animals may seem like they are expensive - but when you figure out that you pay maybe a couple of hundred dollars for the animal that is already sterilised, vaccinated, and in the case of dogs and cats, microchipped, that's really not a lot of money. If you were to purchase a pet from a pet shop for the same price, it is almost a given that on top of this you will have to pay for vaccinations, sterilisation and microchipping, and your pet will not be such a bargain. And with the rescue services, a lot of them have a clause written into the contract that if you for whatever reason can no longer care for the animal or no longer want it, you agree to return it to the rescue service for rehoming rather than giving it away or selling it (or worse, having it put to sleep) - so they do take an ongoing interest in how their animals turn out and how happy they are. The rescue I got the bunnies from is a no-kill rescue - and after seeing how much love and care the volunteers put into the animals at their own expense (since most of the rescues receive no funding), I decided to pitch in and help, because my furbuddies give me SO much love in return for the simple act of giving them another chance at having a good life, and I wanted to do more to help as many animals as I can.

As you can see, our furry staff members are vital to the effective management of Whorled Domination, and each has their own very important role to play :) I will be featuring different furry staff members over the coming weeks to introduce them to all of you :)

And now, onto this week's update! The big news this week is that we have new Beginner Spinning kits available - great Christmas gifts for beginner spinners or anyone who wants to learn :)

Beginner Spinning Kits

These kits come in 2 styles - available with a flower spindle (great for kids) or a regular round whorl wooden spindle. They come packaged with the spindle, 50g of fibre and instructions for how to spin :) Flower spindles have a 10 inch/25cm shaft length, and the round spindles have 8 inch/20cm shafts.

Both types of kit are available for AU$18.00 plus postage.

Spindles

This week we have a MAMMOTH spindle update lol, so grab a cuppa and start scrolling.....

Ultralight spindles - these little babies weigh a tiny 5g with a pine
shaft or 7g with a Tasmanian oak one, and come in the colours you see
pictured, with a hand-bent pigtail style hook. 6 inch long shaft,
finished with a light coat of wax, the whorls are 1 inch in diameter and
stained with vegetable dyes. Perfect for laceweight yarns or spinning
on the go, these babies are $5 each plus shipping ($2 on their own, or
no extra cost with other items). Please let me know when you order, what
colour you would like and whether you would like a pine or Tasmanian
oak shaft.

Pocket spindles - these are the big sister of the ultralights, the
whorls are 1 1/2in diameter and come in natural beech, or maple, cedar
or mahogany stain, with either a pine or Tasmanian Oak shaft. Pine shaft
pocket spindles weigh in at 12g, Tasmanian Oak at 13g. The spindle
pictured above has a mahogany stained whorl and a pine shaft, both
finished with carnauba wax. Hand-bent pigtail style hook. $7 plus
shipping ($2 if on its own, no extra cost if shipped with other items).
Please let me know when you order what finish you would like on your
whorl and which shaft you would prefer.

Sign-ups
for the next round are now open until December 5th and the next
shipment will go in the mail on January 5th, 2012. All payments are due
by December 5th please!

For those of you not yet on Ravelry, the details are as follows:

This is a PAYG quarterly club, with one package being sent every 3 months
(containing a spindle and fibre to the value of whichever tier you select). You
may opt out of club at any time provided you do so by the deadline of the 5th of
the month prior to shipping. Places are strictly limited - if you are on the
wait list and someone opts out, the person on the top of the list will be
offered a place in the club with the option to stay in. If you opt out of more
than 2 consecutive shipments, you will automatically be placed on the wait list.
If you fail to either pay or notify me that you are opting out by the deadline
(and yes, I will be sending reminders so you don’t forget!), your membership
will be automatically terminated, and if you wish to rejoin at a later date you
will be put on the wait list until another place becomes available. From time to
time I may offer additional places in the club, pending my ability to keep up
with demand.

Club tiers are as follows, all prices are in AUD:

Tier 1, Basic: drop spindle and small fibre sample (50g or
less, depending on what kind of fibre it is) every quarter. $30 plus
shipping.

Tier 2, Regular: drop spindle and usually a minimum 50g
fibre sample or a smaller amount of a luxury fibre or blend - one shipment out
of every 4 is guaranteed to be a luxury fibre or blend. $40 plus
shipping.

Tier 3, Deluxe: drop spindle and up to 100g of fibre every
quarter, depending on the blend. This club option also guarantees that 2
shipments per club year (so 2 out of every 4) will contain a luxury fibre or
luxury blend (the luxury blend fibre will normally be 50g). $50 plus
shipping.

You will have several options to choose from with regard to fibre content,
colour, spindle colours/materials and top or bottom whorl - everyone who signs
up will be sent a questionnaire to fill out and return to me so that I can make
sure I don’t send you anything you don’t like :) Australian members will have
the option of whether you want to receive washed raw fleece as a possible club
fibre - I will not be offering this to members outside Australia due to customs
restrictions.

Fibre may be undyed, hand-dyed or hand painted, depending on what I can find
for the club and your personal preferences as to fibre colours/content. Spindle
materials may vary according to which tier you select - but all spindles will be
handmade by me and I will do my best to cater to any preferences you indicate in
the questionnaire.

Shipping costs will be $7.00 within Australia, and $12.00 for
everywhere else. If you would like to spread your quarterly payment out
over each quarter, let me know when you sign up and I can set it up for you with
Paypal :) You have the option of using Paypal, or for Australian club members,
direct deposit.

To join the Whorled Army, you can either message me on Ravelry where I am brighidskiss, or email me directly at whorled.dom@optusnet.com.au-
please include which Tier you would like to join in your message, and
give me an email address to which I can send your invoice and Club
questionnaire if you are a new participant :)

Pure Tea-vil - Whorled Domination's Organic Tea Range!

Teas are now available for sale! All tea is loose leaf and certified organic
unless otherwise stated. Prices are as follows (all prices are AU$ and do not include postage):

Organic hazelnut cream tea - certified organic black tea with hazelnut. Absolutely beautiful with a touch of
milk and sugar, with a very distinct hazelnut flavour and a hint of caramel.

20g
pouch for $2.75, 50g for $5.50, 100g bag for $10.15.

Organic black chai - Warm and spicy with organic cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Perfect with a dash of milk and honey.

"Ballerina" organic art tea - premium organic white tea with jasmine flowers and globe amaranth. Stunning to
look at and has a beautiful delicate flavour, very refreshing! $3.50 per ball or
3 for $10.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order). One ball
makes 6-10 cups, and you can top the jug up with more hot water to extend the infusion
:)

"Lavender Bliss" organic art tea - premium organic green tea with lavender and jasmine blossoms. Just the right
amount of lavender, delicate and delicious! $3.00 per ball, or 3 for $8.50
(larger quantities available on request by special order).

"Queen Jasmine" organic art tea - fitting name for this beautiful rare Silver Needle white tea topped with a
hand-sewn crown of jasmine flowers and a lily petal. Light and delicate flavour,
a very refreshing tea. $3.50 per ball, or 3 for $10.00 (larger quantities
available on request by special order).

Tea hearts - rose petals and black tea, wrapped in pink foil. Makes 2-4 cups per heart. 75c per heart, or 3 for
$2.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order). Also available
as a combination pack of 2 hearts Rose Black tea and 2 of Jasmine Green tea for
$3.00.

Tea hearts -green tea with jasmine blossoms, wrapped in gold foil. Makes 2-4 cups per heart. 75c each, or 3 for
$2.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order). Also available
as a combination pack of 2 hearts Rose Black tea and 2 of Jasmine Green tea for
$3.00.Tea Sampler: contains one ball of each of the 4 art teas, a 5gm
(1-2 cup) sachet of each of the 3 black teas, and 1 each of the hearts.
Great way to try all the different teas in the Pure Tea-vil range, and
would make a great gift or swap item (especially as you can easily
divide the sampler up for multiple swaps). $15.00 (can be gift-wrapped
on request).